Durban has a lively arts scene, which reflects the city's cultural diversity - it offers a rich choice of African, Indian and western entertainment. The Natal Playhouse is the flagship theatre, Smith Street (tel: (031) 369 9596/9540; website: www.playhousecompany.com), staging drama, musical and dance productions.

The recently opened Arena at the city's International Convention Centre, Ordnance Road (website: www.icc.co.za) is a new venue for major headline acts, with capacity for 10,000, while the waterside BAT Centre in Maritime Place on the harbourside (website: www.batcentre.co.za) offers a wide range of arts disciplines, ranging from live music and theatre to poetry recitals.

Jazz is very popular in this city, and there are numerous venues in which to enjoy this form of music, notably Rivets Bar at the Hilton, Walnut Road and Nu Jazz Centre, at the university complex, in Westville.

There are numerous cinemas offering mainstream films around Durban, all run either by the Ster Kinekor group (website: www.sterkinekor.com), which has a 10 screen complex at the Musgrave Centre, or Nu Metro (website: www.numetro.co.za), whose Pavilion cinema at  Jack Martens Street in Westville also offers 10 screens. The city has a well-established annual film festival which takes place in late June each year, featuring a variety of specialist subject areas. The principal venue for art films is the Cinema Nouveau at Umhlanga's Gateway shopping centre (tel: 0821 6789; website: www.sterkinekor.com).